After reading the novel Full Tilt by Neal Shusterman and studying symbolism and theme, students are asked to create a brochure using three of the carnival rides the characters encounter in the books. The rides and their symbolic meaning should

This differentiated handout accompanies Pixar's short film "Lifted" which you can find on youtube. Depending on how your students are doing with constructing a theme statement and supporting it with evidence, you can meet them where they're at with

It can be hard to assess quick write or free writing time, but sometimes a grade is motivational for students to stay on track. This basic rubric help quantify the writer's notebook. I collect notebooks after we have 5 or so new entries, have

After reading the book and teaching camera angles and camera shots, have students use the discussion questions on the last page of this document to talk through the book and what they expect before the view the film. The remaining organizer can be

Students have three options to show what they know about characterization in this project. They use both direct and indirect (STEAL - speech, thoughts, effects on others, actions, looks) characterization from their text to create the project. They

After teaching symbolism, connotation and movie techniques (lighting, camera angle and camera shot), use this project assignment guide to help students explore archetypes. The task is to create a movie poster for a novel they've read. The handout

When using the Somebody Wanted But So (Then) strategy, I use this before an assessment as a reverse practice of objective summary writing. Students read the summary given, determine missing elements, and fill in the SWBST chart on the bottom. It's a

Students sometimes struggle finding STRONG evidence to support a theme statement. Using a novel (could be whole class or lit circle), students first deduce a theme and then find 4 pieces of evidence to support it. That evidence tends to be strongest

This menu guides a layered curriculum for students to explore various texts about a historical era. Students explore novels, poems, non-fiction, etc to "spend money" which equates to their grade. Students must read one of each menu item which

Students isolate a topic or main idea first, find textual evidence to support it, consider what the evidence means about the big idea and then develop a theme statement in the starburst at the bottom. It works for supporting an author's main idea

After reading the short stories "Duffy's Jacket" and "Mother and Daughter," students consider some of the similarities in the text using the characteristics of realistic fiction. This should lead them to a guess of what genre these two stories lie

Liven up peer revising with this checklist. Students read another student's work and mark it up with sunny symbols or cloudy symbols as they look for specific writing skills. Students could also use this to self-revise or even self-assess!

Students struggle to use unique transitions in narrative writing. Use this skit (it's similar to "I have, Who has") to engage them in transitions. It's a great jumping off point for a lesson on the importance of transitions.

Have students read the story, then complete the T-chart to support their inference. Follow up the following class period with the discussion questions. They may use the information from the chart in their discussion.

Using a passage from the book The Giver, students draw still shots as if they were the director (one still shot uses evidence from the text and the next is their own creation). In their drawings, they must consider the mise en scene elements of